A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 31

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

USA > Montana > A history of Montana, Volume II > Part 31

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

After a short interval in Bannack, Mr. Lehman went to Helena where he went into the mercantile business again. He had his brother as a partner, and this firm became the leading mercantile one in Helena. In 1871 thev dissolved partnership, each launching out for him- self. At one time Mr. Lehman owned and operated six stores and owned several valuable blocks in the city. He continued in Helena until 1893, when he moved to Utica, at which point he had important interests, and from Utica he came to Lewistown and opened the present business under the firm name of Charles Leh- man & Company, which came to be one of the largest and most comprehensive department stores in the state of Montana.

Mr. Lehman was a member of the Lutheran church, and though he was not what is familiarly termed as a church worker, he was a faithful practicer of the "re- ligion, pure and undefiled," which St. James described in his writings. He was always a generous and charit- able man, and even in his boyhood, when he first ran away from home, he did not forget to send money to his mother from time to time. His benevolences were unnumbered and his generosity unfailing. It is possible that his admirable qualities were best known to mem- bers of his family, for he was an ideal husband and father. Unlike many men of strong personality and executive ability, he recognized similar traits in his children, and did not hamper them or endeavor to sup- press their individuality at any time. He devoted his entire energies to his business and his leisure hours were spent in the midst of his family. Though often urged to accept public office, he never consented, but as an individual he supported the Republican party. At his death the entire town of Lewistown felt a sense of loss, and during the hour of his funeral all business was suspended.

Mrs. Lehman, too, had the true spirit of a pioneer. She is a German by birth, the daughter of Jacob and Marie Bach, and she was raised in New York City and there married. Soon after their marriage, Mr. Leh-

951

HISTORY OF MONTANA

man returned to the west with his bride, making the trip by way of St. Louis, Missouri, thence by boat to Fort Benton, making the trip on the Silver Bow; the only side-wheeler that ever came up the Missouri river with Captain Ray. When they finally arrived in Helena on June 10, 1869, it was after a stage ride of twenty-four hours. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Leh- man. The only daughter, Helen, is now the wife of Austin Marr of Lewistown. One son, Charles, junior, died in San Diego, California, in 1898. G. A. C. Leh- man lives in Pueblo, Colorado, where he is rector of St. James' parish. The other sons make their homes in Lewistown. Alexander is in the real estate business and a successful man in that field of enterprise, while the others are all in charge of various departments of the business which their lately deceased father estab- lished. Alexander and Louis J. are married, but Os- wald, Walter and Arthur reside with their mother. Alexander has the honor of being the youngest man ever elected to the legislature of the state, as he was chosen to that office at the early age of twenty-one years. Louis J. Lehman is general manager of the store; Oswald has charge of the dry goods department ; the hardware section, the grocery and the office are in the care of Walter, while to Arthur remains the direc- tion of the men's furnishing department. All are par- ticularly suited to the duties of their separate depart- ments, and are carrying the business on to a splendid state of efficiency. It was the happy achievement of Mr. Lehman not only to be a factor in the develop- ment of the state in a worthy measure, but to leave behind him those who would carry on the name he had made known and continue the career of useful- ness and service in which he acquitted himself so valiantly.

DANIEL A. G. FLOWERREE, deceased Montana pioneer, and one of the first men to engage in the cattle busi- ness in this state, was born in Ralls county, Missouri, on May 19, 1835, and died at Atlanta, Georgia, Novem- ber 22, 1912. He was a son of Kemp and Mathilda (Caldwell) Flowerree, the father a native of Virginia, the mother of Kentucky, and in their ancestry were united the Scotch Thistles and the Lilies of France.

Kemp Flowerree made his advent into the state of Missouri in the year 1833, and there for many years he was occupied as a planter, and he died in that state in the year 1881. His widow survived him six years, passing away in 1887. Of their family of three sons and four daughters, Daniel Flowerree was the only Montana resident. Kemp Flowerree was the son of Walter, who moved from Kentucky to Missouri in 1822, when the rugged fastnesses of that state made it similar in many respects to the condition of Montana in its pioneer days. There Walter Flowerree married a daughter of the dis- tinguished Breckenridge family of Kentucky, a family whose brilliance has shed luster not only upon its native state, but upon the entire nation.

Daniel A. G. Flowerree passed from his boyhood's care-free days to early manhood in his native state. He early conceived and consistently fostered the belief that the west offered advantages in many ways superior to those of the east or middle west, and in 1852 he went to California, where he remained until 1855. In that year he went to Nicaragua and in 1857 returned to Mis- souri, there remaining until 1864, when he set out for Montana. He made the trip across the plains in a time when the path of the traveler was beset by manifold hazards, the country being alive with Indians, many of them hostile and treacherous and upon mischief bent. The journey was made by stage coach via Salt Lake City, and on March 16, 1864, Mr. Flowerree arrived at Virginia City. Here he passed some little time in the business of prospecting for auriferous deposits, more fa- miliarly known in common parlance as "pay dirt." Later he engaged more profitably in other business enterprises

in Virginia City, and late in 1865 he came to Helena, then called Last Chance Gulch. Since that time Mr. Flowerree was one of the most distinguished and suc- cessful business men of Helena, or, indeed, of the state. He was among the first to recognize the well nigh inexhaustible resources of the state of Montana as a stock growing region, and was also one of the first to profit by this knowledge. He was one of the largest stock growers and owners in the northwest at the time of his death, and this mammoth business was purely the outgrowth of his own early business ventures. In 1865 Mr. Flowerree had brought a herd of cattle from Mis- souri, and in 1870 and 1873 brought fifteen hundred more from Texas. From then until he closed his earthly career he had confined his attentions almost ex- clusively to this business. In 1883 Mr. Flowerree brought a band of horses from Oregon and previous to that time had brought a mammoth herd of cattle from the same state. From the early seventies until the de- cline, in some measure, of the Montana cattle business, Mr. Flowerree was undoubtedly one of the largest grow- ers and shippers in the west. His holdings of ranch property was of considerable magnitude in Lewis and Clark, Teton, Cascade and other counties at the time of his passing.

The same general shrewdness and foresight which made him one of the big stockmen of the state in the early days when identification with those interests spelled immense profits, launched Mr. Flowerree in the grape- fruit business in Florida, near Fort Meyer. Some years ago he went to Florida for his health, and it was at once apparent to him that the possibilities of the country in the grapefruit line were immense and he accordingly purchased large holdings which he planted to oranges and grapefruit. In recent years he was one of the heaviest individual shippers of those fruits to be found anywhere in the country. He was in many senses a pioneer, indeed, and he has the distinction of having built the first shingle-roofed houses in Helena and in Virginia City. The one in Virginia City was without doubt the first two-story house to be erected in Montana.

In 1858 Mr. Flowerree was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Wethers, of Missouri. Four children were born to them:' William K., of Great Falls, Mon- tana; Annie M., wife of W. L. Velie, of Moline, Illinois; Eudora, now Mrs. J. J. Gray, of Chicago, Illinois; and Elizabeth, the wife of William Wallace, Jr., of Helena. Mrs. Flowerree died in 1882. On February 4, 1885, Mr. Flowerree married Miss Elizabeth F. Cornelius, also of Missouri. One son, Daniel A. G., Jr., was born to them.

Mr. Flowerree possessed in a marked degree the quali- ties of the school of life that developed him. His name was a synonym for rugged honesty and square deal- ing, fearlessness. generosity, great-heartedness and un- tiring energy. The possessor of a keen native wit, he was noted for his quaint humor and his singular apt- ness in repartee. He was affiliated with the Democratic party, but solely from motives of principle, as he never sought personal advancement or office favors of any kind through the medium of politics, although such men as he make the greatest leaders in any activities they may embrace, and the public might well turn to men of his stamp for direction in a political way.

Thousands of friends and admirers of the deceased pioneer gathered in Helena to pay tribute to the mem- ory of the man, on November 28, 1912, when the last rites were observed. The funeral was held from the home of Mrs. William Davenport, at No. 522 North Rodney street, and the services were conducted by Rev. J. F. McNamee, whose eulogy of the decedent was, in part, as follows: "One who knew well the philosopliv of life has given us the old world truth which we all must learn : 'The day is far spent, the night is at hand; the time cometh when no man can work.' Once again the word is given us to hear, as at the close of a long

952

HISTORY OF MONTANA

day of life the night cometh-the time of cessation from labor to one of our old and respected citizens.

"Mr. Flowerree in the seventy-seventh year of his life has been called hence and given rest from toil and physical infirmity. Like many another who came to Montana in the early days of her history, his story is that of the enduring, ambitious, achieving youth and man who has made a place for himself in the memory and heart of a multitude. For him, indeed, it was a long day, and now in its close, the friends assembled here to offer their tributes of respect, must surely think of those fundamental truths which make their appeal to all.

"Much of the best in many people whom I have known is not proclaimed upon the house tops. It is quiet, unobtrusive and silent; yet there is good there, there is kindness and help and sympathy and love. Like the coming of the day upon the grass and flowers, or the approach of the morning sun to the golden doors of the east, not a footfall is heard, not a trumpet sounds, not a saluting gun is fired; yet they come, and because they come some barren place is revived, some drooping flower lifts its head, some discouraged soul looks up and takes courage. Like so many of these earlier men of Montana, who saw the rougher side of life and en- dured the hardships incident to formative days of so- cial evolution, Mr. Flowerree was big-hearted and gen- erous; keen and prudent in business which grew in di- mensions, he was open-handed and unselfish. Many an old friend and acquaintance, down on his luck, knew where he could turn for help, and indeed many could testify that they did not need to ask, as it was enough that they were in need to find his helping hand ready. As a father, husband and friend he was loved. As a citizen he was esteemed. He did what he could as he knew it, as life appeared to him, as the unselfish spirit led him in the way of sympathetic helpfulness to ex- press the best within him."

Many stories are told of the innate generosity of Mr. Flowerree and of his square dealing and loyalty to friends. It is told of him that during the panic of 1893, to save a Helena bank from going to the wall, in which a personal friend was interested, Mr. Flowerree borrowed $400,000 in cash from a Chicago commission house, depositing it in the threatened institution, through which timely aid it was saved from failure and enabled to weather the financial storms of that mem- orable time.

The funeral of Mr. Flowerree was held under the auspices of the Lewis and Clark Society of Montana Pioneers, and many of the prominent citizens of Helena assisted as active and honorary pallbearers.

JOHN MCDONNELL. Gallatin county has no more highly respected pioneer family than that of McDonnell, the founders of which, Mr. and Mrs. John McDonnell, are now living quietly in Bozeman, enjoying the fruits. of long years of labor on the ranches of this section, whence they came nearly a half a century ago. During their long and useful careers they have done much to aid the material development of the Gallatin valley, and well merit the esteem in which they are universally held. John McDonnell was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, February 26, 1833, and is a son of John and Judith (McCormick), natives of the Emerald Isle who immigrated to the United States during their latter years and spent the remainder of their lives in agricul- tural pursuits in New York state, where both died. They had a family of six children, of whom four still survive : John; Nicholas, who is engaged in the foun- dry and locomotive business at Des Moines, Iowa; Michael, a resident of Bozeman; and Mary, wife of John Cutler, living near Winterset, Iowa.

John McDonnell secured his preliminary educational training in the schools of his native country, and as a youth determined to try his fortunes in far-off America.

When he had accumulated enough funds for the jour- ney, he left Limerick for Quebec, Canada, whence he arrived after a voyage of seven weeks on a sailing vessel, and then journeyed on to the home of an uncle in New Jersey, where for four years he was engaged in farming. In 1857 he removed to the vicinity of Des Moines, Iowa, where he followed farming and leased land until 1864, on April 5th, of which year he was united in marriage with Miss Harriet C. Stuff. She was born near Harper's Ferry, on the state line between Maryland and West Virginia, September 13, 1851, daughter of Jeremiah and Anna Eliza (New- comer) Stuff, the former born in Germany, September 22, 1817, and died May 4, 1861, and the latter born in Maryland, October 22, 1820, and died in 1904. They had four daughters and one son, all of whom are living. Mr. Stuff came to this country when he was four years of age on a sailing vessel, and landed at Baltimore. In 1845 he removed to Illinois, settling in Ogle county, sixty miles west of Chicago, where he became a pioneer millwright, and subsequently moved to Dixon, Illinois, where his death occurred.

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. McDonnell re- mained in Des Moines, Iowa, until May 16th of the same year, when they started across the plains for Montana, or Idaho, as it was then called. An account of their journey, as prepared by Mrs. McDonnell, not only describes the trip thoroughly, but will prove an interesting narrative to those of the younger genera- tion, as illustrative of life and travel in the pioneer days, and is entitled :

How we came to Montana in 1864.

"My Dear Young Friends: You have all read and heard much about the early days of Montana, I am sure, and yet I think you will be interested in hearing the story of how we pioneers came to this country long, long ago, when the land was wild, and inhabited mainly by wild animals and wild and hostile Indians. In order to tell my story, my mind will have to turn back to the year, 1864. In the early spring of that year my husband, myself and many other young people- many scarcely out of our 'teens-only a few months out of school, and some of us newly-married, just beginning to realize the necessity of making a home of our own, concluded to take Horace Greely's advice and travel toward the setting sun. There were no Pullman palace cars waiting for us to get into, nor emigrant cars such as they have for home-seekers now, not even a stage-coach. We came here years in advance of these modes of travel. At that time there were few railroads west of Chicago, and none in Des Moines, Iowa, the point from which we started on our journey.

"We invested our little all in large canvas-covered wagons, horses, mules, oxen, cows, chickens, things to eat and wear, and much bedding. We also had our garden seed, medicine chest, bible and prayer books, and musical instruments. I still have the violin we brought with us. We organized our company and elected for our captain a Mr. Stafford, a man who had some experience in overland traveling. It was his duty to ride horse-back in advance of the wagons, several hundred in number, watch the roads, keep a lookout for Indians and herds of buffalo, and find camping places where there was water, and grass and wood for our campfires. After these preparations, on the 16th day of May, 1864, after giving a tearful good-hye to our parents, our friends, our good, comfortable homes and everything that was dear to us, we started on that never to be forgotten camping trip across the plains. Though the company was large and well-provisioned and the weather fine, though the stars and moon cheered us by night and the ever-glowing sun brightened our days, still we were sad. We knew we were leaving civilization behind us, that we would have to travel unmade roads, up and down hills across mountains, over treacherous rivers and through barren wastes.

953

HISTORY OF MONTANA

We knew many tribes of wild Indians were directly in our path, still we were not afraid. Youth is not afraid of anything and we were all young then.

"It took one week to reach Council Bluffs from Des Moines. The Missouri river between Council Bluffs and Omaha (two small towns then) had to be crossed on a ferry boat. Our wagons were all numbered with chalk, beginning with "One"; I think ours was num- ber "One Hundred Nine." We paid two dollars each to have our wagons ferried over. It took all of one day and one night to do this, the ferryman keeping busy at work while we slept in our wagons. Early in the morning our party was in Omaha, where we went into camp to spend Sunday. This was our last chance to mingle with others in Sunday devotion in a church. I will say right here we kept our Sundays all through that long, long trip much better than they are kept now. On Monday we started on our way through Nebraska, every day leaving civilization more surely behind and getting further into an unsettled country. Columbus, then a town of only a few houses, was the last town that I remember. One day we passed through a camp of Pawnee Indians, the first I had ever seen. Our captain said they were Christianized, so I was not afraid of them, but they were very filthy and quite repulsive to me. Near a small stream, called Loup Fork, which we had to be ferried across by number, as usual, our number being so far back, my husband drove our team out of line quite a distance in order to let the horses have some grass to eat while we waited our turn. Here I met my first Indian. Feeling rather homesick, I sat in the back part of the wagon looking out over oceans of land covered with long grass. The horses were eating quietly when I lay down and went fast asleep. I was awakened suddenly by a loud noise. Sitting up quickly I saw in front of me a large Indian, who was trying to get my husband's overcoat which was lying on the spring seat. In the effort to get it out he had pulled the seat over, and this was the noise that had awakened me. Frightened was not the name to tell how I felt. There was a revolver strapped to the wagon bows, and with what remaining sense and strength that was not scared from me, I got hold of it without taking my eyes off the Indian. It was the first revolver as well as the first Indian I had anything to do with. I held one straight and looked at the other steadily. My Indian was afraid of that unloaded revolver and, hesitating but a minute, threw down the overcoat, jumped to the ground and hid in the long grass. I was then afraid he would make off with the horses, so I sat holding the revolver until I saw the men coming to take the wagon. Then my Indian got up and ran swiftly away. I was completely outdone, and like a woman will do, cried myself sick wishing I was back in Des Moines. But wishing was of no use. It was as safe to go on as to go back alone. We soon learned that our peace of mind and safety depended on our staying together. There were days and even weeks when days and nights seemed about the same, only we were moving on.

"One night our captain said that he had seen some buffaloes in the vicinity of our camp and thought that as we had a nice camping place it would be a good thing to camp a few days and hunt. The men were all eager for the hunt but we women protested. We were anxious to move on and get under a roof some- where for the winter; but we had to give in. The men took turns, some going hunting and others watching the horses and camp. At first they got some small game, which made delicious eating. At last they got a huge buffalo and there was great rejoicing in camp and meat galore. We salted some down, dried some for lunches and every camp kettle was being used in the cooking of that buffalo meat. We cooked all day and far into the night, but it never got tender. [ think some of our party lost their teeth trying to chew it.

No amount of cooking ever made it palatable. We had much sport over our buffalo. The ladies con- cluded that it was the great-great-grandfather of the herd, and on account of his great age could not keep up with the rest and so fell easy prey to our amateur hunters.

"Many days after our big hunt, or nearing camp one night, we were delighted to see our captain and his horses standing under some huge shade trees. It was such an unusual thing to see and we were so pleased with the sight, that we drove rapidly that we might enjoy the shade before nightfall. After un- packing, some observing member of our party, looking up into the tree-tops, made the discovery that this was an Indian burial place. A lot of dead Indians wrapped in blankets were fastened to the branches above our heads. We quickly moved camp. We should have stayed, for you know the saying that the only good Indian is a dead one. Another time, after a long drive under the burning sun, our captain stopped at a beautiful gushing spring. We had again begun to un- pack when a thirsty member of our party tasted the water and found it scalding hot and so strong of in- fernal regions that we thought it best to move our camp.

"Sometimes it was hard to find camping places where there was wood, grass and water. In that case we had to haul our wood and water with us. When we were loaded in this way, everyone walked to lighten the load, for our horses were getting very tired. Some of us got to be very good pedestrians before we reached the end of our journey. We always camped on Sundays and sometimes longer if we found a nice place. The time was spent in doing some necessary work or in having a good social time. Occasionally on Saturday night we would have a dance. The ground would be smooth, the instruments brought out, and some would dance while others sat about the campfires and told stories till the wee hours of the night.

"On one of those long camping times, while the horses were picketed out in the grass, the men busy mending the harness, and the women on the banks of the Platte were washing, we were startled by a tremend- ous war-whoop, and the first thing we knew we were almost completely surrounded by Indians. We soon found that they were trying to stampede our horses, which they succeeded very well in doing. The men took what were left and went after the others that the Indians had taken, and succeeded in getting a good many horses back, but one of our men was killed and another crippled by the Indians. It was sad to bury one of our party and leave him resting there all alone as we journey on, but we had many such experiences before our long trip was over.

"The Civil war was in progress when we left the east. We had had no communications from our friends and it was not until we reached Virginia City that we heard the war was about over and we were very thank- ful. On the Fourth of July we camped and celebrated. Many of us had little flags, which we put around our camp, the best speaker was called upon for an oration and several little picnic dinners were indulged in. Along in August we were getting so tired and wishing we would now soon get to some place where we could camp for good. We were still about five hundred miles from where Bozeman now is, I think, when one day our captain met a party that had been to Virginia City, the greatest placer mining camp in the world. They were going back and told us there was no use in going on, that the country was wild and cold and not fit for anyone to live in; that we'd all better turn back. We were filled with consternation; we could not go back; our teams were almost worn out. We soon met another party. With them was the great scout and guide, Bridger, guiding them back to the east. The party going west and the party going east camped together

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 31

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002